The Mountaineer's Route — Page 4

The North Fork

1. Highest in the Land
2. Whitney Portal
3. The Mount Whitney Trail
4. The North Fork
5. Ebersbacher Ledges
6. Lower Boy Scout Lake
7. The Moraines
8. Iceberg Lake
9. The East Couloir
10. The North Face
11. Whitney's Summit
12. Heading Down

The North Fork of Lone Pine Creek follows a steep, narrow canyon, and it is here that the Mountaineer's Route proper begins.

While the majority of Whitney Hikers will want to be sure to stay on the trail, and cross the creek, Mountaineer's Route climbers will instead begin following a use trail up the north side of the canyon.

As you quickly gain altitude in this dense and claustrophobic canyon, it is worth considering the miseries it must have caused John Muir on his first ascent.

Originally, climbers took myriad paths through the willows.

Repeated creek-crossings were the rule, as was getting stuck in spirit-sapping dead-ends and backtracking.

In the process, all that tromping around caused a good deal of damage to the fragile environment.

Thankfully, a consensus route is emerging, helped along by the Forest Service, which has begun reconstruction efforts in damaged areas.

This, alas, will become a theme for the duration of the Mountaineer's Route:

On the one hand, there is a strong argument for maintaining the Route in its original, trailless-state (and thus preserving its high adventure).

On the other, this remains a high-use area, and without a trail, people scramble across it indiscriminately, inevitably eroding and degrading the landscape.

Matters are complicated by Canyon's sides—smooth granite slabs that funnel all traffic back toward the willow-clogged creek.

The gist of the route today consists of a brief hike up the north side of the creek, staying in a small pine stand to avoid the brush.

Soon, however, the route plunges into the brush, crossing the creek, and then leading high up the south side of the canyon.

Following years of heavy snowfall, these creek crossings can become serious matters, and hikers have drowned in such circumstances.

This year, however, the creeks are low, thanks to an abnormally poor winter (this will be of particular benefit higher up).

Now on the south side of the canyon, I am treated to fine views of Whitney Portal and the town of Lone Pine far, far below. From here, I can also see the Ebersbacher Ledges, on the opposite side of the creek.

The Ledges have become a clever and infamous part of the Mountaineer's Route, allowing hikers to bypass the worst of the willows—at the cost of a section of exposed travel. If you miss the entryway to the Ledges, it is possible to continue upward, battling your way through the merciless willows. Faced with their formidable barricade, however, many unlucky climbers have simply abandoned the effort entirely and turned back.

next: The Ebersbacher Ledges »